Apple has faced major delays in rolling out its Apple Intelligence features, first announced at WWDC 2024—including a more conversational Siri—many of which are still unreleased as WWDC 2025 approaches. Despite these setbacks, Apple is now shifting focus to Safari, planning to introduce a new AI-powered search feature in the browser, reported Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. This move comes after a reported dip in Safari search usage in April 2025, prompting the company to act quickly to regain momentum.

Cue adds that Apple looked at Anthropic, Grok, DeepSeek, Perplexity for Apple Intelligence -- in addition to current ChatGPT and upcoming Gemini. — Mark Gurman (@markgurman) May 7, 2025

Apple’s Services chief, Eddy Cue, revealed that the company is exploring a major AI-driven revamp of Safari, aiming to integrate generative AI search tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity directly into the browser. This revelation came during Cue’s testimony in the U.S. Justice Department’s antitrust case against Google, centered on their $20 billion deal to remain Safari’s default search engine.

Cue attributed the push for change to Safari’s first-ever dip in search usage in April 2025, as users increasingly favor AI platforms over traditional search. In response, Apple plans to let users choose from various AI-powered search tools, signaling a shift toward relying more on external AI partners across its ecosystem.

As part of its Apple Intelligence rollout, Apple has partnered with ChatGPT to enhance Siri’s capabilities, offering OpenAI significant exposure in exchange for free integration—potentially converting Apple users into paid ChatGPT subscribers. Eddy Cue also confirmed that Apple has begun talks with Perplexity as it explores expanding AI search options.

Apple is way behind and Safari searches dropped in April (for the first time) -> US v. Google: Eddy Cue testifies that Apple is "actively looking at" reshaping Safari to focus on AI search and, in a first, Safari searches dropped in April

"He also noted that searches on Safari… pic.twitter.com/OpCRi6nWib — Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) May 7, 2025

While these AI tools won’t replace Google as Safari’s default anytime soon, Apple plans to add them to its list of selectable search engines. Cue noted that while current generative AI tools still need improvements in indexing, their advanced capabilities are already attracting users away from traditional search.

Cue believes AI-driven search will see rapid adoption, even before these tools are fully refined, due to the strength of their existing features. He foresees a gradual user shift from conventional search engines to AI-powered alternatives as large language models evolve. Despite this trend, Cue emphasized that Google should continue as Safari’s default search provider, acknowledging the importance of the multi-billion-dollar deal with Google. He even expressed concern over the potential revenue loss if that partnership were to end—particularly now that Google Lens is integrated into Apple’s Visual Intelligence system.